Pompeii: the city that became a time capsule
Around the end of the century AD, a Roman writer called Pliny wrote about a terrible volcanic eruption that he had witnessed as a young man. The eruption has occurred on August 24th, 29 AD. The earth began to tremble and a volcano named Vesuvius, near Pompeii, Italy, erupted. Pliny described a cloud coming down the mountain, blocking out the sun and burying everything in its path, including whole villages and towns. This particularly sad event left a deep impression on Pliny who had lost an uncle in the eruption. Yet, over the centuries, there was a greater loss. The people, towns and villages that had disappeared under the ashes were entirely forgotten by the world.
However, more than 1,600 years later, some scientists found the lost towns that had been buried under the ashes. By 1748, they had found an awesome historical site. They had started to dig out the ancient city of Pompeii. In a way, Pompeii is like a “time capsule” preserving a frozen moment in history. Before the eruption occurred, it had been a booming Roman city with temples, markets, restaurants and theatres. Now as you walk along the streets of the city, time rewinds. You can admire the ancient architecture, statues, decorated walls and authentic objects characteristic of the time. However, much more than buildings and objects, it is the forms of the people who were caught in the disaster that have made the city a monument to human history.
The bodies of people who had died in Pompeii left impressions in the ash that showed their exact shapes. As you walk, you will pass people gathered together for protection in their last hours of life. One person, sitting alone, looks like he is praying. Another man, lying on his side, looks as if he is trying to get up. One can only feel sorrow and deep sympathy for these once living statues.
Today, more than 250 years after scientists found the city, thousands of tourists and hundreds of scientist visit Pompeii every year to learn more about the ancient world. In this way, the city, which the world had once forgotten, lives on nearly 2,000 years after its loss.
Key words:
Volcanic eruption, buried, event, disappear, disaster, preserved, destroy, discover, scientist
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